How to Choose an Online Law Tutor in the UK

The first step in choosing a tutor is to determine their familiarity with the specific area of law you are studying. Law encompasses a wide range of subjects, and a tutor who focuses on criminal law may not be the most appropriate choice for a complex equity and trusts module. You should ask prospective tutors about their background in the specific topics you need to cover.

It is also important to consider the format of your assessments. For example, if you are preparing for the SQE1, which assesses Functioning Legal Knowledge through single best answer multiple-choice questions, you will need a tutor who understands this specific testing format. Conversely, if you are preparing for the SQE2, which assesses practical legal skills, a tutor with experience in those specific practical exercises may be more suitable.

A crucial factor in selecting a tutor is their adherence to academic integrity. Legitimate tutoring involves explaining concepts, helping you plan your own process, and providing formative feedback on practice work. A tutor may discuss general legal concepts and use generic examples to illustrate points.

However, support must never cross into academic misconduct. A tutor must not write, rewrite, substantially edit, research, fact-check, supply authorities for, complete, paraphrase, or reduce your assessed work. Providing bespoke content for a student to submit as their own is a serious issue. The Skills and Post-16 Education Act 2022 defines a relevant service as completing all or part of an assignment on behalf of a student where it could not reasonably be considered personally completed by the student.

During your initial discussions, you should evaluate how the tutor approaches teaching. A suitable tutor will focus on diagnosis, deliberate practice, and independent student work. They should aim to help you identify patterns in your understanding and coach you to make your own revisions.

You can ask how they structure their sessions and what kind of preparation they expect from you. A tutor who encourages you to actively participate and apply legal principles to problem questions is generally more effective than one who simply provides information.

For those intending to qualify as solicitors, it is important to be aware of the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) requirements. The SRA places a strong emphasis on character and suitability. Any finding of academic misconduct by a university must be declared and can affect your admission to the profession.

Therefore, it is essential to work with a tutor who understands these boundaries and supports your learning in a way that adheres to all academic and professional regulations. You must always check your own institution's current rules before sharing assessed work, as permissions vary.

Before arranging a session, it is helpful to ask a few specific questions to gauge whether the tutor is a good fit for your needs. You might ask about their familiarity with your specific module or the assessment format you are preparing for.

You should also ask about their approach to reviewing work. A tutor should be clear that they will only mark permitted formative or practice work against disclosed criteria, and that they will not edit or rewrite your assessed submissions.